INCREASE IN INTERLEUKIN-8 AND SOLUBLE INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 IN BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUID FROM PREMATURE-INFANTS WHO DEVELOP CHRONIC LUNG-DISEASE

Interleukin-8 (IL-8), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM ), elastase and neutrophils were assessed in bronchoalveolar lavage fl uid from nine infants who developed chronic lung disease (CLD) after r espiratory distress syndrome (RDS), seven who had recovered from RDS, and in four control infants. IL-8, sICAM, elastase and neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were increased in the CLD group, the diff erences being most pronounced at 10 days of age. When babies with and without CLD were compared at 10 days of age, bronchoalveolar lavage fl uid from the babies with CLD had significantly increased IL-8 (114.0 v s 12.7 ng/ml), sICAM (19.0 vs 1.1 mu g/ml), elastase (6.9 vs 0.9 mu g/ ml) and neutrophils (1.9 vs 0.4 X 10(9)/l). In serum the increased con centration of IL-8 observed at birth in the CLD (247 pg/ml) and RDS (1 92 pg/ml) groups decreased over three weeks to the concentrations obse rved in the controls (<70 pg/ml). Persistent inflammation could be a m ajor contributory factor in the development of CLD.